Liberal Education
& America’s Promise
Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College
Integrating Signature Assignments
into the Curriculum and Inspiring Design
What is a Signature Assignment?: Institutions define signature assignments in varying ways in terms of
their specific structure or content. The resources listed in this document provide myriad examples of
such assignments that illustrate how they can be anything from a case analysis involving real-world
mathematical problems that asks students to write about the solution process and the relevance of the
work to other issues or disciplines to a service learning experience that applies disciplinary knowledge
and includes reflective writing exercises. There are, however, some common features or purposes that
bind the various iterations.
Signature assignments require students to demonstrate and apply their proficiency in one or more key
learning outcomes. This often means synthesizing, analyzing, and applying cumulative knowledge and
skills through problem- or inquiry-based assignments or projects. Signature assignments may also
follow a theme across curricular and co-curricular experiences tied to the institutional mission or
features of the surrounding community, allowing students to apply their growing knowledge and
abilities to meaningful questions over time. At some institutions, all signature assignments must include
specific components, such as a “real-world” application, reflective writing, or collaborative work.
The most distinctive feature of signature assignments is the way programs integrate them across the
educational pathway to help students demonstrate their growth, make connections across the
curriculum and co-curriculum, and apply their knowledge to real world problems.
Why Use Signature Assignments?: Signature assignments that vertically and horizontally span the
curriculum create a structure for students to cumulatively build proficiencies throughout their entire
undergraduate experience. This design invites students to produce meaningful examples of their
learning that document their progress and culminating skills and abilities. Institutions can also use
students’ signature work to assess outcomes at the programmatic level, providing a valuable resource
for evaluation and institutional change.
How Have Signature Assignments Been Used?: Institutions have embedded signature assignments in
the curriculum throughout general education programs, themed pathways, or common intellectual
experiences. These reflective, analytical, or creative assignments can unite high-impact practices such
as e-Portfolios, diversity and global learning, service learning and internships, capstone projects, and
more.
Resources
Although this document is not meant to be a comprehensive authority on the use and design of
signature assignments, we have provided some useful resources to inspire both the design and
integration of signature assignments for student development and institutional transformation. We
consider this to be a “living document” and welcome suggestions for other resources to add to this
compilation. Please send suggestions to: [email protected].
Presentation: Liberal Education and America’s Promise: Why Focus on Signature Assignments Now?
Purpose: This presentation provides an overview of the utility of signature assignments in liberal
learning to enhance students’ ability to apply their learning to big questions and future problems.
Author: Debra Humphreys
Presentation: Developing Effective Signature Assignments: Lessons from the DQP
Purpose: This presentation makes connections between the provision of signature assignments and the
assessment and intentional achievement of student learning outcomes. Specific assignment examples
are provided and the application of rubrics and curricular mapping are discussed.
Author: Peter Ewell
Website: Salt Lake Community College Faculty e-Portfolio Resources Page
Purpose: This page provides important resources to faculty about implementing and designing signature
assignments across the curriculum and their use in the institution-wide e-Portfolio program to enhance
and assess student learning. This resource site has a variety of extremely valuable explanations and
examples.
Presentation: Using “Signature” or “Key” Assignments for Program-level Assessment
Purpose: This presentation provides information about using assignments for program-level assessment.
Authors: The University of Hawaii at Manoa Assessment Office: Marlene Lowe and Monica Stitt-Bergh
Website: University of Texas’ Signature Course Essentials Sample Documents
Purpose: This website offers a bank of resources, rubrics, and sample assignments organized by learning
outcome.
Authors: University of Texas at Austin, School of Undergraduate Studies
Website: NILOA Assignment Library (not populated as of 4.7.14)
Coming soon: This website will assemble a library of assignment templates aligned to the Degree
Qualifications Profile (DQP) proficiencies.